The present invention relates to skateboards and more particularly to an improved skateboard which may be steered by the foot of the rider irrespective of any shifts in the distribution of the weight of the rider.
A conventional skateboard comprises a rigid elongated board having front and rear portions. A front wheel assembly is fixedly mounted below the board front portion and a rear wheel assembly is fixedly mounted beneath the board rear portion. Steering of the board is accomplished by a complex redistribution of the weight of the rider standing thereon. Learning to redistribute the weight as required to steer the skateboard in a swift and safe manner is a time-consuming and dangerous process which often discourages the novice skateboarder.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,811 describes an improved skateboard in which the rear wheel assembly is not fixedly mounted on the board rear portion (as in the conventional skateboard), but rather secured to a disc-like platform disposed above the rear portion of the board. The platform and the rear wheel assembly are pivotable as a unit when the platform is pivoted by the rearwardly disposed foot of the skateboard rider. As the steering of this improved skateboard does not require a redistribution of the weight of the user, the learning process is both simplified and rendered safer. Even this improved skateboard is, however, subjected to a number of deficiencies. The improved skateboard is steerable only through an angle of about 45.degree., thus depriving the rider thereof of the experience of the sharp turns which contribute greatly to the enjoyment of skateboard riding. Furthermore, the improved skateboard contains no mechanism for biasing the pivotable wheel assembly to its forwardly-facing position (that is, the position of the assembly which causes the skateboard to proceed in a direction aligned with its longitudinal axis) as is necessary when the board is being used in a jump. When a skateboard is used in a jump, it is essential that, upon its return to contact with the ground, both sets of wheel assemblies be forwardly-facing in order to prevent the novice rider from being spilled. Finally, the means for limiting the angle through which the rear wheel assembly may be pivoted is exposed on either side of the board where it is susceptible to being contacted and caught by an uneven riding surface or objects thereon (such as underbrush), again tending to spill the novice skateboarder.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a skateboard which is steerable by the foot of the rider without a redistribution of the rider's weight, while still providing the sharp turn capability characteristic of the conventional skateboard.
Another object is to provide such a skateboard containing means for biasing the pivotable wheel assembly to its forwardly-facing position so that the board may be safely used in jumps.
A further object is to provide such a skateboard in which the means for biasing the pivotable wheel assembly to its forwardly facing position is disposed within the board and not exposed.
Yet another object is to provide such a skateboard in which the means for limiting the angle through which the pivotable wheel assembly may be pivoted is disposed within the board and not exposed.
A final object is to provide such a skateboard which may be easily and safely ridden by even a novice skateboarder with only a minimum of practice.